Ahad, Oktober 27, 2013

The Muslim world’s historic – and deeply tragic – chasm between Sunni and Shia Islam is having worldwide repercussions. Syria’s civil war, America’s craven alliance with the Sunni Gulf autocracies, and Sunni (as well as Israeli) suspicions of Shia Iran are affecting even the work of the United Nations.

Saudi Arabia’s petulant refusal last week to take its place among non-voting members of the Security Council, an unprecedented step by any UN member, was intended to express the dictatorial monarchy’s displeasure with Washington’s refusal to bomb Syria after the use of chemical weapons in Damascus – but it also represented Saudi fears that Barack Obama might respond to Iranian overtures for better relations with the West.

Jumaat, Oktober 18, 2013

HAJ MABROOR: After arriving in Makkah
from Mina on Thursday, pilgrims circumambulate the Kaaba marking the
end of Haj. (AN photo by Khidr Al-Zahrani)

The once-in-a-lifetime journey of faith, endurance and determination for
hundreds of thousands of Muslims from nearly 200 countries came to a
successful end on Thursday.

Relief was writ large on the faces of pilgrims, many in the autumn of
their lives as was evident from the deep furrows on their brows. Here at
Mina, they were the personification of sheer determination.
Many pilgrims woke up early on Thursday and straight after sunrise
began throwing seven pebbles at each of the three huge concrete
structures representing the devil.

Pasadena, California — When I was a boy in Desuq, Egypt, a city on the
Rosetta branch of the Nile, about 50 miles east of Alexandria, my family
lived steps away from the local landmark, a mosque named for a
13th-century Sufi sheik. Five times a day, we would hear the call to
prayer. Our imam encouraged us to study, telling my friends and me,
again and again, of the message revealed by the Prophet Muhammad: “iqra”
— read! Education was in the fabric of our culture and religion.

I left Egypt in 1969 for graduate school at the University of
Pennsylvania. I have been on the faculty at Caltech for 37 years and
carried dual citizenship for 31. But my commitment to the country of my
birth never wavered. Political tumult — two uprisings, and the overthrow
of two regimes, in the space of two years — has left Egypt in deep
political uncertainty. But what’s been lost in the deadly machinations
among both the secular liberals and political Islamists is what touched
off the revolution: the aspirations of Egypt’s youth.

President Obama’s decision to reduce
but not terminate military aid to Egypt is a measured attempt to
protect American interests in a tumultuous region while affirming the
president’s support for democracy. One message is that the relationship
between the two countries remains crucial to regional stability. The
other is that America cannot sit by while the Egyptian Army tramples on
Egypt’s political opposition, foments violence and turns increasingly
authoritarian, thus ensuring further turmoil.

Whether partial measures will be a sufficient warning to the generals is
unclear, especially now that senior American officials have said the
decision to reduce aid is “not meant to be permanent.” But if the
military insists on its repressive path, Mr. Obama will have to go
further.

Khamis, Oktober 10, 2013

Three months ago, Egypt’s military seized power in a coup that it said was necessary both to prevent civil war and to restore democracy. By now it is clear that the military is failing on both counts.

Today, suspected Islamists killed at least nine soldiers and police in attacks. Yesterday, security forces killed 51 pro-Muslim Brotherhood protesters at a rally in Cairo that, according to witnesses, had been entirely peaceful. Meanwhile, the country continues to live under a nightly curfew.

None of this resembles what Egypt’s defense minister and de facto ruler, General Abdelfatah al-Seesi, continues to say he wants for his country: reconciliation, economic growth and a quick return to rule by elected civilian governments. Indeed, civil war looks like a far more real threat today than when al-Seesi and the military deposed the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Mursi, Egypt’s first elected president, on July 3.

At least 51 people died in clashes across Egypt as the country's two largest political factions gathered in rival commemorations of Egypt's participation in the 1973 war with Israel, a day of deep significance for many Egyptians.

Both opponents and supporters of the country's ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, rallied in their thousands – ostensibly to mark the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur war which is viewed in Cairo as an Egyptian victory, despite ending in a stalemate that favoured Israel.

But rather than emphasising Egypt's unity, the different messages conveyed by each faction's demonstrations underscored divides. Morsi's supporters, whose marches filled highways in west Cairo, used the day to protest against his ousting, while his opponents took to Tahrir Square to praise General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi's role in his overthrow. Deadly violence flared when tens of thousands of Morsi supporters tried to reach Tahrir Square. Soldiers, police and armed vigilantes blocked their path and started firing.